The temperatures in North Jersey have remained cool, but the same can’t be said for the Kearny baseball team.
After starting the season with three consecutive losses, the Kardinals have won nine of 12 games to improve to 9-6 on the year. Most recently, Kearny has won five of its last six games, three of them by shutout, heading into the start of the Hudson County Tournament later this week.
“Our pitching and our defense are carrying us,” Kearny head coach David Smart said. “We’ve really gotten some great performances from our guys on the mound and we’ve had some solid play behind us and it’s really what’s pushing us through.
“I always knew our fielding and our pitching was going to be our strength. I knew just the way we work with these guys and their commitment they put into their field play. I knew this was going to be what was going to be our main focus and what was going to get us through those tough games.”
Leading the way has been the Kardinals’ one-two combination of Julian Butler and Brendan More at the top of the rotation. Butler, a junior righty and three-year starter, has a 2.69 ERA with 35 strikeouts in 26 innings. More’s 4.48 ERA for the season might not look ace-like, but the junior lefty has been dominant in recent weeks. He hasn’t allowed a run in his last 13 innings and has an eye-popping 49 strikeouts in 22 innings over his last four outings.
The pitching talent goes beyond the top at the top for Smart and the Kardinals. Sophomore Kevin Kinsley, who has a 1.65 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 17 innings, is another starter, who will likely shift to the bullpen for the county and state tournaments, as will Michael Jarquin, who has struck out 11 over five scoreless innings.
Juniors John Corbett and Alex Santos sophomore Jon Rocco and freshman Josh Konopka have also provided Kearny with valuable innings over the course of the season.
Catching them is Cayden Janeira, who is having a breakout junior season. Janeira, who hit just .196 last year, is hitting a stellar .405 with a team-high 11 RBI, as well as 10 runs and eight stolen bases.
“Cayden is our best hitter,” said Smart. “Cayden has really worked in the offseason. He’s got a great eye, he knows the strike zone, and he’s confident when he’s up there.”
Konopka is the backup and fellow freshman Mario Velez can also suit up behind the plate as well.
Junior Alex Santos starts at first base with Velez also in the mix.
Up the middle, Kearny has a veteran infield tandem with Butler at short and Rocco at second. A strong defender, Butler is enjoying a career year at the plate, hitting .349 with 12 runs and 11 RBI. Kinsley takes over at short when Butler is on the mound. Rocco, a sophomore, is hitting .290.
At third base is Michael Jarquin, who has been perhaps the biggest surprise this season. The senior is hitting .273 while leading the team in runs (19), walks (14) and stolen bases (19) after hitting just .122 a year ago.
Lucas Vazquez, better known for his play on the soccer field, has taken over as the starting left fielder and brings tremendous speed to the position, stealing eight bases in limited time.
Corbett, who’s hitting .444 with seven RBI and seven runs in 27 at-bats, splits time in right field with More, who is hitting .333 with nine runs. In center is senior Ismael Diaz, who is a strong defender, who is back after missing the first three weeks of the season due to injury.
Designated hitter has been by committee, with the red-hot Corbett getting most of the at-bats there in recent games.
Seniors Pedro Duarte and Henry Majano, juniors Peter Kintos and Zack Byrne, and freshmen David Balboa and Izakiel Moya bring additional depth off the bench.
Kearny looked to continue its winning ways with regular season games on Monday and Tuesday against Lincoln. The Kardinals were awarded the nine seed in the upcoming Hudson County Tournament and will play 17th-seeded Lincoln once again, in the preliminary round on Thursday. With a win, Kearny will travel to eighth-seeded Ferris in the second round on Saturday.
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Jason Bernstein | Observer Sports Writer
Jason Bernstein joined The Observer as its sports writer in March 2022, following the retirement of Jim Hague. He has a wealth of sports-writing experience, including for NJ Advance Media (nj.com, The Jersey Journal, The Star-Ledger.)